Air Force fighters will patrol the skies Feb. 1 around Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., as the Arizona Cardinals battle the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. The fighters will enforce the FAA’s temporary flight restriction zone over the Tampa area during the championship game, NORAD said in a release Jan. 28. Customs and Border Patrol assets will also be airborne during the event. “We want citizens to know that we are always on the job, and defending our homeland from air threats is our No. 1 priority,” said Maj. Gen. Henry “Hank” Morrow, commander of NORAD’s Continental US region. Last year, Air Force fighters protected the airspace around Phoenix when that city hosted Super Bowl XLII.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.